How Successful Are Modern Versions The Ontological Argument?

How Successful Are Modern Versions The Ontological Argument? The ontological argument was first put forward by Anselm (1033 - 1109) not as a foolproof argument for the existence of God, but rather as an argument for people who already believe in God. The ontological argument is based on a priori logic, that is to say that it is based on ones definition of God. In Proslogian 2 Anselm defined God as 'That than which nothing greater can be conceived'. He believed that everyone has an idea of what God is like in their heads, but as God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived, and existence is a positive attribute - God must (by definition) exist. Anselm saw this as deductive reasoning - if we follow the argument through in logical stages, and accept all of the premises, then we must accept the conclusion. The argument could be set out in three stages: Premise 1 - God is that than which nothing greater can be conceived. Premise 2 - A God that exists would be far greater than one who does not. Conclusion - God must exist. The argument I have outlined above is the first version of Anselm's Ontological Argument (Intentional Existence), his second argument in Proslogian 3 (formal existence) treated God's existence as necessary, meaning that he must have always been in existence and can never go out of existence. Descartes built on the ontological argument and

  • Word count: 1513
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Persuasive Writing on the Holocaust

Persuasive Writing on the Holocaust My reaction to the Holocaust was devastating. It is one example of bad things happening to good people. The mass murdering of so many Jews is just disgusting and also because it was done for basically no reason. As this was a true event many sources or witnesses are available to express their views, feelings and emotions of themselves and those who survived this terrible tragedy. I will demonstrate examples of Jews who have survived what they have been through and what they think about God. It is really hard to go through all of this and still believe that God exists. The holocaust should not change our theology on God. It is said to be that the Holocaust was a temporary "Eclipse of God".1 This is supposed to be when God is away from earth beyond any reason or explanation. People trying to respond to this problem of believing that there is a God after witnessing the terrible event have either succeeded or failed. I will introduce three people who have survived the Holocaust and have tried responding to this problem. The three people included are Primo Levi, Richard Rubenstein and Emil Fackenheim. I think a big impact on the life of Jews would be their belief in God because many of them have tried responding to this problem and have changed the ways in which they think about him, their views on how good or powerful he is, how they express

  • Word count: 2165
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Good and Evil

Good and Evil Religious Education A.) Describe what Christians may believe about the power of good and the power of evil B.) Explain how Christians may be influenced by these beliefs C.) 'If God really loved humanity we would never have to suffer.' Do you agree? A.) Describe what Christians may believe about the power of good and the power of evil The Christian God is believed to be both loving and omnipotent. Christianity teaches that as well as a power of good there is also a power of evil - traditionally this is said to be Satan (or Lucifer), one of the archangels who disobeyed God and was sent to hell (Luke 10:18). Christians believe that the power of evil, almost like a force, can persuade people to do the wrong thing. They also believe that it is up to the individual person to make the right choice and to follow God's teachings, as God will judge us on how we lived our lives, and whether or not we lived good lives. The Old Testament teachings on the power of good and evil are based predominantly on the story of Adam and Eve. The teachings in the Old Testament of good and evil are in two chapters mainly; 'Genesis' and 'Job'. Christians believe that the first ever sin was committed in the Garden of Eden. It is written in the creation story in Genesis that Adam and Eve disobeyed a direct command from God, thus committing the first sin. God said, "The man has

  • Word count: 3041
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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CREATION vs. EVOLUTION

(CREATION vs. EVOLUTION( Creation... Evolution... Two of the main aspects about our reason on this highly sophisticated universe. No one knows which theory is the right one. It has been a mystery for many years to all mankind. Who knows how long until the mystery is solved. Your view could differ from many others around you. This is my view... CREATION Creation focuses on one point: God. The Bible and the Qur'an are the best source for this topic. Christian creation For Christianity, the stories of the Creation are found in the first two chapters of the book of Genesis in the Bible. They show how God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. This account says that God created the world from nothing: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 After creating the earth, the sky, the seas and plants, God made birds and fish on the fifth day and animals and humans on the sixth day. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27 Some Christians take this account very truthfully and believe that this is exactly how the world was created. In the 17th century, Bishop James Ussher calculated from the Bible that God began creating the world at 9am on October 26, 4004BCE. As early as the fourth century St Augustine was writing that God probably only created very

  • Word count: 1232
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Is there knowledge we should not seek? Or is all knowledge inherently a good thing, and can only persons be harmful?

Is there knowledge we should not seek? Or is all knowledge inherently a good thing, and can only persons be harmful? Knowledge, like the biblical forbidden fruit, is enticing. The curiosity of human beings urges them to seek new knowledge, and the intelligence of human beings has spurs them to apply their known knowledge for their benefits. People seek knowledge to make use of it and create new knowledge. Since some human beings fail to apply their knowledge in a universally beneficial way, people blame knowledge itself to be evil. However, if examined with care, all knowledge is in itself neutral, and only its misguided application can be harmful. To begin with, I question myself, "What is knowledge?" Defined as a conceptual higher-level abstraction of information, knowledge can be categorized in two distinct areas: theoretical knowledge and practical or applied knowledge. Theoretical knowledge includes all scientific facts that can be proven and experienced by the senses, while practical knowledge includes all applications based on the former. Practical knowledge emerges first in human consciousness and curiosity obliges human beings to seek the roots of this knowledge. For instance, everything on earth falls to the ground. Ape-men millions of years ago threw jackfruits down a tree to break them in order to obtain the pulp; people had observed objects fall since the

  • Word count: 1067
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Describe Christian teachings about the relationship between humanity and the rest of creation(700 words, 24 marks)

Religion and Science Religious Studies Coursework By Sarah Swinton 1DFm Question 1: Describe Christian teachings about the relationship between humanity and the rest of creation (700 words, 24 marks) Question 2: Explain how Christians might put these teachings into practice in order to help preserve the environment. (500 words, 21 marks) Question 3: "God made the earth, so he should look after it." Do you agree? Give reasons to support your answer from different points of view. (300 words, 15 marks). Question 1: Describe Christian teachings about the relationship between humanity and the rest of creation "God created the world in 7 days" is what Christians believe, where as others believe that God does exist but took longer to create the world, and others believe there is no God and the world was created through evolution- which is the development of atoms through long periods of time. But all of these people agree on one thing- the world was created a long time ago and we as a world-wide community need to respect and look after the world. In Genesis chapter 1 verses 27-28 God sets people apart from the rest of creation, gives them dominion, control over the world. Christians believe domino has lead to people using the world's resources for themselves. The church rarely speaks out about destruction of the world, for example power and wealth concerning and

  • Word count: 2069
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Arguments for God's Existence

Rick Nevarez December 8, 2002 Philosophy 100 M-W 4:30 -6:50 Philosophy of Religion: Arguments for God's Existence A dictionary definition of God is a being conceived of as supernatural, immortal, and having special powers over the lives and affairs of people and nature. Along with many other individuals throughout the world, believe in the existence of higher human being otherwise known as God. Therefore I am defending the existence of God. There are really only two arguments in favor of the existence of God. One comes from reason and the other from experience. The argument from reason is an ontological argument. It is based upon the assumption that something had to create all that is around us. The idea that god is the most perfect being imaginable. The arguments from experience are based upon one of several approaches. These include Teleological, Cosmological, and the moral argument. The teleological argument is based upon a different type of assumption, namely that science has shown us the universe is an orderly design, not confusion and chaos. This argument is based upon the results of our experience. I believe that in order for something or someone to exist there has to be a creator. For whatever the item maybe wither it's a house or a watch, the existence of a carpenter or a watchmaker had to be present at some point in time. Like Voltaire then said "but if

  • Word count: 501
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Cosmology is word given to the study of the origin and structure of the universe

Cosmology is the word given to the study of the origin and structure of the universe. The Christian cosmology according to the first two chapters of the book of Genesis in the Bible says that God created the whole universe in six days and rested on the seventh. The account says that God created the world form ex nihilo (from nothing): "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) This quote from the Bible means that God created the heavens and the earth on the first day. God also created on the first day, light and dark. God acknowledged this as beneficial and so God separated light from dark to create night and day. 'God saw that the light was good, and God brought about a division between the light and the darkness. And God began calling the light Day' (Genesis 1:3-5) On the second day God separated the earth from the sky. 'And God went on to say: "Let an expanse come to be in between the waters and let a dividing occur between the waters and the water.' (Genesis 1:6-8) Consequently, on the third day God created dry land, plants and trees. 'And God began calling the dry land Earth, but the bringing together of the waters he called seas. Further God saw that it was Good. And God went on to say: "Let the Earth cause grass to shoot forth, vegetation bearing seed, fruit trees yielding fruit according to their kinds, the seed of

  • Word count: 628
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Christian Ethics and Suffering

February 2003 RS Christianity Coursework Christian Ethics and Suffering AO1) Hunger and disease are generally caused by poverty and they tend to result in suffering. Christians teach about different causes for suffering, including the beliefs that it is mankind's fault that suffering exists and that it's God testing our faith with suffering, such as in the story of Job where these different causes for suffering are explained in three categories: suffering is a test to see if Job would lose his faith through suffering, suffering is part of God's plan which is beyond human understanding or that suffering is a punishment for sin. The teaching that suffering is due to our sins can be backed up by the creation story in Genesis 3 when God said: "Because of what you have done (eating the forbidden fruit), the ground will be under a curse..". The problem with blaming God for his punishment is that his punishing mankind goes against the Judeo-Christian idea of an omni benevolent God, which is why Christian teachings tend to teach that suffering is humanity's fault and this theory is much better supported by the Bible, as there are many teachings about how the humble are the ones to be lifted high and generosity is always important: "but since you have plenty at this time, it is only fair that you should help those who are in need" (Paul: 2 Corinthians). As well as giving,

  • Word count: 935
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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Outline the Cosmological Argument for the existence of God, and assess its claim to prove that God exists.

Outline the Cosmological Argument for the existence of God, and assess its claim to prove that God exists. The Cosmological Argument was first proposed by the philosopher Thomas Aquinas in his Summa Theological in which he outlined his five propositions for the existence of God. The Cosmological Argument argues from the existence of the world, and its perceived state of order, to the existence of a creator, God. The argument has encountered several challenges, most notably from fellow philosophers David Hume and Bertrand Russell, and various vies discussed by modern day scholars. The Cosmological Argument is an a posteriori based on experience and observable phenomena. It infers the existence of God from the existence of the cosmos, Greek word for universe. The Cosmological Argument seeks causes since, "The universe cannot account for its own existence". Aquinas first set out his theory of the unmoved mover as an argument for the existence of God. Aquinas believed that everything is moving or changing is moved or changed by something outside itself, therefore the instigator of the motion or change in a thing is also changing or in motion and so on. This process cannot go back infinatly, since then there would be no "First Mover". Therefore Aquinas argues that there must be a First Mover, independent of anything else. This is was is everyone generally understands to be God.

  • Word count: 1296
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)
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